[o] [SE] longneck, ice cold beer never broke my heart

Iskra

BREATHE IT IN, IT'S JUST SNOW, WE'RE JUST FALLING
WE WON'T ALWAYS FREE FALL BACK TO NOTHING

Ever the portrait of innocence, Iskra had to fight to keep from breaking as Elizabeth began to wither in place. He could trace the embarrassment like a psychic reading future in the lines of a palm. It was a greater effect than he'd hoped for, and he wondered if the good doctor had some of her own pyramid bricks she needed to straighten out if books could get her so flushed.

He at last relented when she had been reduced to a mouse peeking through the reeds of her fingers, to which he chuckled with a depth of satisfaction. "Oh, sorry," he offered with honest apology, not having meant to delve quite so deep into her public humiliation. He pulled on the back of his neck with a hand for a moment. "I didn't mean to cross a line." Both hands flattened back on the table, one sweeping across it to spread some of the glass condensation that had dripped down, as if he could also pull away her shame with it. "It's just—" he paused, glancing up at her, having dropped his gaze to the small water droplets beading on the table. He felt this was safer territory for her, something about himself he was willing to expose now, but he checked to make sure he wasn't about to break the golden tether of friendship beginning to shimmer between them.

"I thought maybe I could learn a thing or two from them, if they were useful in that way. There's someone I—" He hesitated. What did her feel about her? He'd never stopped to really piece it out, and certainly didn't think he could start by blurting it out to this half-stranger first. He licked his lips, a nervous smile threading his features. "There's someone I want to impress." That much was true. He could admit to that much.

A pause, a finger tapping the smooth table in silent thought and debate. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" He searched her eyes for some clue before she might speak to it. He wanted to know if there was any science behind the depths of what he felt for her, or if he was just as foolish as ever.

I'M JUST STARTING TO LEARN
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CHASING GHOSTS